John Slinger, the MP for Rugby, Bulkington and the Villages, told the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Rugby Local Business Forum that bold action was needed to support young people in the region and the country.
It comes after the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) called for the pensions triple lock to be removed, while one of its key asks for the October Budget is for the Chancellor to cut employer National Insurance Contributions for under-25s to make it easier for firms to take on younger staff.
Speaking at the event held at WAGO’s UK headquarters at Houlton, the MP said that he was open to ideas on what a ‘youth triple lock’ might entail but that there was a need to recognise that, in many cases, young people needed more support than older generations.
He said: “One of my key priority areas has been, and will continue to be, young people, and arguing for them to have a greater voice in decision making.
“Not only should they have a greater voice, but their interests need to receive more attention by the system, including businesses and government.
“Young people are, by definition, the future. So why is it that we're not getting more resource as a country to support their interests? So, as part of that agenda, I've called for what I call a youth triple lock, deliberately using the same language as the pension triple lock.
“The new Prime Minister wants to be brave and bold and I think that youth triple lock could be an example of that. By calling it a triple lock, I’m aiming for it to get some attention.
“You could say, as part of that lock, that free buses for young people will be one of the three items to help them reach employment opportunities.
“We've got to have the guts to be brave if we want to help young people and rebalance our support.”
Corin Crane, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The BCC made the bold statement recently that the pensions triple lock should be revisited because of the cost of the policy.
“And we really like John Slinger’s call for a youth triple lock and it could fit into one of the BCC’s recommendations ahead of the Budget. As a network, we want employer National Insurance Contributions for the under-25s reduced which would make it much more affordable for a business to take on a young person.”
The meeting also heard from Carmen McDougall, representing Urban&Civic (Houlton), who explained how the development had created opportunities for those who work from home to meet and network.
Isobel Woods, head of economy and skills at Warwickshire County Council, told the group about the new Warwickshire Business Growth Service.
The service, described as ‘one front door to support business’ replaces the services offered by the CW Growth Hub.
Dan Mann, the chair of the Rugby Local Business Forum, said the meeting had proved productive.
He said: “We were very grateful to WAGO for hosting us and to our brilliant contributors from Houlton and Warwickshire County Council.
“I’d urge businesses in Rugby to find out more about the new Warwickshire Business Growth Service and the support it might be able to offer.
“We are, once again, grateful to John Slinger for coming along to engage with the business community in this way and one thing we’d all ask after the recent change of Prime Minister is for stability to give businesses the confidence to invest and grow.”
